Archive for June, 2017

I have to admit, there are a lot of questions I have regarding God and my faith. I have been a Christian most of my life. Thirty-Seven years to be exact. But I still have questions. Not doubts…just questions.

I sometimes wonder why God allows things to happen to certain people. Why do seemingly good people go through tremendous suffering while people I would consider not so good live lives of abundance. I know that not everything is as it appears to be. I also know that there is no one really “good.” We all have flaws and therefore have fallen short in many areas. But still…some things just don’t make sense.

So, I picked up a copy of Everything You Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Eric Metaxas. I wanted to read this book for two reasons. One, because I have read two other books by this author that I have truly loved. The other reason, is because as I stated above, I still have some questions about God. The book is written in a Q & A format and covers everything from “How can I prove that God even exists” to “Does God hate gays and oppose women.”

He does discuss the topic of suffering. He attempts to answer the question, “Why would a loving God allow suffering” in chapter 2. This is a legitimate question that has been asked for centuries. Here is a portion of how the author answers the question of suffering…

Evil is not caused by God, and it doesn’t come from God. But God allows evil to exist because He gave us all free will, and He wants us to exercise that will. It would be meaningless to have the ability to make choices if there were only one option available—if, for example, there were only good in the universe. By giving us free will, God gave us the ability to reject Him and all that is good, and thereby bring evil into the world. And all of us suffer in this life because of the evil that exists. (p24)

I’m not willing to say that this answers the question entirely for me. But it does bring comfort to know that all people, to some degree or another, will have moments of suffering and also moments of joy. Not that I am comforted to know that others will suffer, but I am comforted to know that I am not the only one that will suffer.

In conclusion, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask), may not have answered all of the questions that I have. But I do have a better understanding of how I can answer questions about God that others may ask me. The book also affirms what has always been true. As the author writes on page 145, “ We can’t get fixated on unknowable details.”